Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1887-12-17

insure our future welfare. his power
of reasoning being not yet fully devel.
oped, he could not ascribe these effects
to natural causes, and therefore created,
after his W image, gods, who he be-
lieved were the authors of all things.
Death and the decay of the body filed
him with unspeakable terror, and in his
fear he created for himself q sweet illu.
sion, an immortal life in a happy here.
after. Above the blue arch of the sky,
among eternal joys, should be his future
home, and his s~elfshness prompted him
to expect great reward for the little good
he might have done his fellow creatures.
At this stage history traces the path
of man, now clearly defined, in its as.
cending course. By the aid of philologY,
it shows us men grouped into q nation,
true to their instinct for companionship.
On the plateau Of Iran we find the AIRY.
ans, the parent stock of the Hindoo,
Latin, Greek, and all modern civilized
nations. Starting from this home at diff.
ferent times, yet all with the same de.
gree of mental ability, and the same
characteristics, we find them so entirely
changed by the conditions and circum.
stances Of the countries to which they
emigrated, that to-day it is hardly pos
sible to detect their relationship, except
through a comparison of the root words
of their language.
The circumstances of . people have
always determined its progress in civil.
zation. The Teutons, who went to the
north, being compelled to spend nearly
their whole time in obtaining means to
satisfy their physical wants, could boast
of no mental attachments for many cen.
turtles; while those races of southern En-
rope who went to a country where the
necessaries Of life cost but few exertions,
made rapid advancement in science, liter.
allure and art.
Among different races, the social con-
dition, the natural outcome OF the inter.
nal forces and external surroundings OF q
people, modify their progress. Where
there have been a lew who rolled IN
wealth and luxury at the expense and
labor OF the multitude, the progress has
been very slow; the rich caring only for
revelry and dissipation, while the poor
must toll in privatlons and suffering, not
only TOR their W miserable existence,
but to enrich the already Overlooking cot.
fers OF the powerful few.
Had not the distinction OF caste existed
between the people OF Egypt, where the
yearly overflow of the Nile fertilized the
soil and food grew spontaneously, leav-
ing leisure for the cultivation of the mind,
what aid she might have given in enlight.
ening the world But knowledge was
confined to the rulers, mercenary priests,
who feared that their power might be
weakened if knowledge found it's way
among the people. Lest they might spend
their time in studying Nature and her
laws, they were compelled to build pyra.
mids, royal tombs, and many structures
devoid of either use or beauty.
What might this world now be, had
not its progress been checked by the bar.
barians who overwhelmed and conquered
the ~dissipated, but once valiant Romans,
and covered the civilized world with a
shroud of Ignorance and darkness! The
night that followed the glorious day Of
ancient civilization was the darkest man
ever knew, and to deepen the awful
gloom, the church Of Rome cried out:
knowledge is born of the devil!" Oh,
if this were so, why were we given the
power to penetrate its mysterious depths;
why given that thirst which could be
quenched only by the sweet draught of
wisdom?
SO great was this Unborn desire for
knowledge that many dared to die, or
suffer living death for the utterance of
Natures laws and truths which they dis.
covered. Always in history have we
found a few great men, who were in ad.
vance of their age, and rose by their own
exertions above the level of tie masses.
Calico maintained that the earth was
not the center of the solar system, but
revolved around the sun. Imprisonment
was his reward for this discovery.
How many who might have contrib.
uted their share to the worlds attain
ments, died in their misery with their
thoughts locked within their bosoms,
filled with terror at the fate of many a
reformer in thought or morals.
But at last the irrepressible genius of
man awoke from her slumber. threw off
her robe of darkness, and lifted her eyes |
to the light of truth and reason, and
universal progress began anew. just as
the heavenly bodies are saved from de-
struction by constant motion, man can
find the true solution of his life only in
his onward march.
To-day, as we gaze at stately buildings,
the iron bands across the continent, the